Stock market closing bell: Sensex surges 460 points; Nifty reclaims 17,600-mark

Bombay Stock Exchange (Photo credit: PTI file)

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex climbed 460 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 17,600-mark on Thursday after the RBI left interest rates unchanged but retained its accommodative policy stance to boost growth.

A positive trend in global stocks also supported the domestic markets, traders said. Extending its gains for the third straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 460.06 points or 0.79 per cent higher at 58,926.03. Likewise, the NSE Nifty jumped 142.05 points or 0.81 per cent to end at 17,605.85. Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 2.11 per cent, followed by Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Kotak Bank, M&M and PowerGrid.

In contrast, Maruti, Nestle India, Ultratech Cement and Reliance Industries were the only laggards.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held its key lending rates steady at record low levels for the 10th straight meeting to support a durable recovery of the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to hold the lending rate, or the repo rate, steady at 4 per cent, and its reverse repo, or the rate at which it absorbs excess cash from lenders, unchanged at 3.35 per cent.

The six-member MPC, which has been on pause since August 2020, voted unanimously to maintain the status quo on the repo rate and by a majority of 5-1 to retain the accommodative policy stance as long as necessary, he said.

The RBI projected a 7.8 per cent economic growth in the coming fiscal starting April 1, down from 9.2 per cent expected in 2021-22, in view of uncertainties on account of pandemic and elevated global commodity prices.

It lowered the inflation outlook to 4.5 per cent for the next fiscal from 5.3 per cent in the current year.

In Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with modest gains.

Stock exchanges in Europe were in positive territory in the afternoon session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude inched up 0.08 per cent to USD 91.62 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 892.64 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.